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โครงการหนังสืออิเล็กทรอนิกส์ด้านการเกษตร เฉลิมพระเกียรติพระบาทสมเด็จพระเจ้าอยู่หัว

Abstract

The research project “Thai Water Policy: Knowledge Base for the Future” has five objectives,
as follows: (1) To compile Thailand’s water policies from the past until the present; (2) To develop a
archival database on Thailand’s water policies arranged in chronological order for future generations to
use for reference and research; (3) To study the problems, causes of problems, and factors that cause
water policies in different periods to align with one another or to change, as well as policy
consequences; (4) To study the current situations of water resources and management; and (5) To
propose key issues to be considered in developing future water policies.
The research findings find that, according to historical records, the Thai state has continuously
developed water policies from the Sukhothai period (B.E. 1726) until today (B.E. 2559). Water policies
were originally initiated to serve agricultural and household consumption purposes, and later
expanded to include other purposes of water usage, corresponding to changes in the country’s socio-
economic conditions. Thailand’s previous water policies that generally aim to resolve water resources
issues have three main specific objectives, namely: (1) water shortage or drought, (2) flood, and (3)
water quality. Water policies in the past until now thus share similar key issues, as the majority of them
focus on solving the three problems, particularly the efforts to provide and develop water sources.
The differences among the policies lie in implementation or development of action plans. The three
water problems persist until today and are likely to worsen in the future.
There are five main reasons for the water problems: (1) unstable political situations and
limited power to advocate for solutions; (2) social conditions with limited public participation leading
to public opposition to the government’s projects to develop water resources; (3) limited budget to
develop water resources; (4) numerous institutes and agencies relating to water resources, but no
integration; and (5) inadequate academic information that is acceptable to the society for developing
water resources and disaster warning. All of these five factors are caused by the management structure
of water resources that are not appropriate for solving problems. The research team hence proposes
that the management structure for water resources should adopt the “citizen-state” approach based
on the principle of joint participation by the public sector, the private sector, and civil society. The key
agencies in this management structure include the National Water Resources Committee, the
Secretariat Office of the National Water Resources Committee, the National Water Information Center,
the River Basin Committees, and the Sub-River Basin Sub-Committees. These principles and
management structure should be stated explicitly in the main National Water Resources Act.

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